Published December 28, 2009
The Nature Conservancy has bought 2,186 acres near the Little River Canyon National Preserve that could increase preserves size in time.
Conservancy officials say the purchase provides a buffer to development on the canyon rim and permanently secures land the state has been leasing for public hunting.
Weve been working with the Forever Wild program, the Nature Conservancy and weve been meeting at the Canyon Center on this, said Pete Conroy, director of the Jacksonville State University Little River Canyon Center. We were able to secure a pot of money from Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Robert Aderholt. Rep. Richard Lindsey also helped on the state level. The stars just aligned on this project.
The conservancy bought the Cherokee County acreage from Hancock Timber Resource Group for $3.6 million. The land is south of DeSoto State Park on the opposite side of Little River and runs east of the Blanche community.
The reason we are interested in it is because the preserve boundary has changed, said Little River Canyon National Preserve superintendent John Bundy. Now, we are able to buy land within our new boundaries. This will allow this property to be held until we can make a deal with the Nature Conservancy. The money is there. We are very excited about this project.
The Nature Conservancy plans to sell 1,536 acres to Forever Wild, the states land preservation program, and expects to transfer other portions to the National Park System for inclusion in the 14,000-acre national preserve.
This project is a significant milestone in our decades-long pursuit to protect one of the Souths most distinctive natural areas Little River Canyon, said Chris Oberholster, state director of the conservancy in Alabama.
A federal bill passed Congress in March that gives the preserve the option of buying properties included in a new, larger legislative boundary should they become available. It would not allow the preserve to take the properties. This new act is what Bundy said would allow the preserve to buy the land in Cherokee County.
There are other tracts surrounding Little River Canyon National Preserve that are currently being looked at as well, Conroy said.
Conroy said he could not specifically say what those projects are because plans have not been finalized.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Allowed: times-journal.com
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